When Worlds Collide

When Worlds Collide Review

By Christopher Null

At the bottom of the barrel of disaster movies rests When Worlds Collide, which gives us not one but two planets on a direct collision course for earth. The first will graze us, wreaking havoc with the weather, but the second will smash us to bits.

A plan is hatched to build a latter-day Noah's Ark, taking 40 or so people from Earth to the first planet, after it has passed us by and before the second one hits. But who will get to ride the rocket to safety? And how will those who are left behind react to their imminent doom? And isn't it amazing that that first planet can support human life? And how did they get all these B actors together in one place?

The questions get more absurd from there. The film is meant to be a sober look at how humanity might deal with a terminal disaster of epic scale, but it's so fundamentally ridiculous and poorly made that it's hard to take seriously. Decades later, Deep Impact would explore a nearly identical story arc, but at least by then special effects had caught up. In Worlds, all the action takes place with clunky miniatures, against obvious matte painting backdrops, or simply off camera. There's lots of running and screaming, with plenty of smoke wafting in from off screen. (And my favorite: The spaceship's fuel gauge is a bobbing needle wavering between FULL and EMPTY.)

All told, this zippy 82-minute film would have been perfect for Mystery Science Theater 3000, but I doubt Paramount would have played along. Some people see Worlds as a classic. Classic cheese, to be sure.